News and Action Ideas about Yarmouk Camp from Al-Awda

It is with deep sorrow and concern that we witness the injustice and tragedy befalling the Palestinian refugees in Syria. Displaced from their homeland, our courageous people continue to face the horrors of violence, siege, famine, and indiscriminate targeting. We believe it is our duty to support them, as we believe it is our duty to support all innocent civilians who fall victim to slaughter, displacement, destruction of homes and lack of medical care and basic necessities. We know that many communities in Syria are currently suffering from these horrors, and we sympathize and stand in solidarity with all of them. However, as an organization that is dedicated to supporting Palestinian refugees and their inalienable right of return to their homes and lands of origin in Palestine, we are well aware of our responsibility in drawing attention to their specific fate, as it is inextricably tied in with our common history of brutal expulsion and exile in the Shatat (Diaspora).

We call upon all parties involved in this unprovoked injustice to cease their hostilities against our Palestinian brethren and sisters in Yarmouk camp. In the current quagmire of the warring parties in Syria, we believe that this is the proper response to adopt as a Palestinian organization that was founded with the specific aim and goal to create a strong basis of international solidarity with Palestinian refugees, regardless of where they have been forced to live outside of Palestine by their Zionist aggressors.

With regard to the Syrian people, we extend our gratitude, brotherhood and solidarity to them, and we believe it is not up to us, but up to them to decide who leads their country. All we want for our Palestinian refugee communities is the protection of their homes, their families, and their livelihoods for the time that they are still unable to return to their rightful place in the world, in our homeland Palestine. As long as this exile in the Shatat lasts, the horrors that are befalling the people living in Yarmouk camp cannot be tolerated, accepted, or defended, regardless of whom is to be held responsible for this cruel siege, that victimizes only innocent people who have little or no part in the ongoing hostilities that are prevalent on Syrian soil.

We call upon the citizens of the free world, international media, and all international aid organizations to direct their attention and action to the indefensible suffering that is taking place in Yarmouk camp. We call upon all parties, the Syrian government and the armed opposition, to take responsibility for any actions on their part, direct or indirect, that are contributing to this horrendous situation, and to cease any such activities immediately. We demand that the siege of Yarmouk camp end and that all fighters leave the camp with their weapons immediately. The injustice must end, and it must end immediately. Our people deserve food, medical aid, protection and shelter, and everything possible must be done to make sure they receive these with immediate effect.

ACTION:

We ask all people of conscience to contact the Syrian Embassy and the Office of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces in Washington DC to demand that the siege of Yarmouk camp end and that all fighters leave the camp with their weapons immediately. Let our people live!

Please write to National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces using the online form posted at this page
http://www.etilaf.us/contact_us

We also call on all members and supporters to hold protests and demonstrations to draw attention to the desperate plight of our people in the Yarmouk camp and elsewhere in Syria and to demand an end to the siege of Yarmouk camp end and that all fighters leave the camp with their weapons immediately. Let our people live!

Al-Awda, the Palestine Right to Return Coalition stands by its brothers and sisters in Yarmouk camp, squarely and firmly. Forever we will stand in solidarity with our Palestinian refugee communities, wherever they live in the world. Until Return!